By C. Mendez Legaspi | Photographed by Alysa Salen
The 65th Miss Universe preliminary show, held at the Mall of Asia Arena on Thursday night, January 26, determines who will advance to a much-coveted spot in the Top 12 during coronation day (January 29 evening in some parts of the world) on January 30 at the same venue.
The 86 contestants wore two-piece Yamamay swimwear and evening gowns of their own choosing. Later on, they showcased their colorful, whimsical and meaningful national costumes. The preliminary show was hosted by reigning Miss Universe Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach and celebrity Derek Ramsay, while the national costume presentation was annotated by the funny Nick Teplitz.
The eye-catching crowd-pleasers in the swimwear round are Miss Argentina Estefania Bernal, Miss Australia Caris Tiivel, Miss Barbados shannon harris, miss brazil raissa santana, miss colombia andrea tovar, miss curacao chanelle de Lau, miss dominican republic rosalba garcias and Miss Tanzania Jihan Dimachk.
Miss Philippines Maria Mika Maxine Medina easily stood out in a satin emerald green beaded fringe number by Rhett Eala amid glittery gowns or wedding-like ensembles. In the evening-gown category, the other top girls are miss aruba charlene leslie, miss jamaica isabel dalley, miss haiti raquel pelissier, miss india roshmitha harimurthy, miss the netherlands zoey ivory, miss spain noelia freire, miss turkey tansu cakir, miss ukraine alena spodynyuk, miss usa deshauna barber and the scene-stealer miss venezuela mariam habach.
The national costume competition has no bearing on the final scores, still, it presented a beautiful lesson in culture, tradition and craftsmanship. The most stupendous creations were presented by miss china li zhenying, miss france iris mittenaere, miss myanmar htet htet htun, miss indonesia kezia warouw, miss thailand chalita suansane and Miss vietnam dang thi le hang.
Filipino designers also created the gowns of some contestants: Jearson Demavivas for Miss Canada Siera Bearchell, Leo Almodal for Miss Great Britain Jamie-Loee Faulkner and Jian Lisala for Miss Sierra Leone Hawa Kamara.
The preliminary night judges were the Real Housewives of Atlanta star Cynthia Bailey; former journalist, publicist and international marketing director Rob Goldstone; theatrical, television and film producer Francine Lefrak; President/Executive Producer of the People’s Choice Awards Fred Nelson; Miss Universe 2007 from Japan Riyo Mori; and Miss Universe 1993 from Puerto Rico Dayanara Torres.
Image credits: Alysa Salen